Today’s post is a guest post by a foreign law specialist at the Law Library of Congress, Louis Gilbert. Louis previously wrote “Wait, It Is Not About Wigs?” – The Story of Faso Dan Fani Court Robes in Burkina Faso for In Custodia Legis.
We throw around the term “haute couture” a lot these days: on runways, in fashion blogs, and in brand campaigns, but in France, it is not just a fancy way to say “high fashion.” It is a legally protected label with very specific rules, history, and meaning.
Haute Couture: More Than Just Clothes
At its core, haute couture is the art of creating luxurious, made-to-measure clothing for a private and very exclusive clientele. But it is more than that, it is also a creative playground where designers push boundaries, take risks, and influence the future of fashion far beyond the small circle of people who actually wear these clothes.
Even though only a few clients ever purchase couture, its impact is global. The media attention surrounding haute couture shows means that ideas born in couture houses trickle down into ready-to-wear collections and even pop culture.
A Wartime Origin Story
The story begins during World War II. With fabric shortages affecting the entire country, the French government needed a way to support the couture industry. Until the outbreak of the second World War, haute couture professionals operated independently. With the onset of the war and resulting shortages in the textile industry, Parisian couture unions requested an official designation from the government granting haute couture houses privileged access to the raw materials needed for production.
So, in 1945, the government officially stepped in. First, the Comité Général d’Organisation de l’Habillement et du Travail des Étoffes (the General Committee for the Organization of Clothing and Fabric Work) under the authority of the Ministry of Industry, issued a decision on January 23, 1945, distinguishing “couture” companies from mass-market producers. Then, on April 6, 1945, a ministerial order laid out the exact legally enforceable criteria a fashion house had to meet to qualify as haute couture. Those rules are still the foundation of the system today.
Since then, only a select group of fashion houses, approved each year by a special commission under the Ministry of Industry, can legally use the title. The process is overseen by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, which sets the standards and reviews applications. They can even conduct audits and investigations before granting the prestigious status.
What Really Makes a Brand “Haute Couture”
So what exactly makes a house “haute couture”? According to the order of April 6, 1945, to earn and keep the title, a fashion house must:
- design and create custom garments made to a client’s exact measurements, entirely in-house, with multiple fittings,
- present two collections a year in Paris, one in January for spring-summer, and one in July for autumn-winter, each featuring at least 25 original looks,
- produce only original work, no buying designs from outside sources, and
- be approved by a special commission under the Ministry of Industry, overseen by the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne (now part of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode).
Once a house is approved, it gets added to an official list updated annually. And only those on that list can legally call themselves haute couture. The presentations showing off the spring-summer and autumn-winter collections are elaborate productions, comparable to theatrical performances, and are central to the identity and visibility of haute couture.
Prestige Over Perks
Back in the 1940s, being on the haute couture list came with real perks: easier access to materials, more pricing freedom, and prestige. As postwar shortages faded in the early 1950s, the practical advantages disappeared. What remained, and still holds incredible power, is the status. Haute couture became less about economic benefit and more about cultural prestige. It was, and still is, a mark of excellence, craftsmanship, and artistry.
Historically, couture houses have also used high-profile figures for promotional purposes. In the 1930s, for example, Chanel dressed the Countess de Montgomery, while Lanvin dressed the Countess Jean de Polignac, both free of charge.
While the prestige has held steady, the number of official haute couture houses has dropped sharply. There were 106 accredited houses in 1946. By 1967, that number was down to 19. As of 2020, only 16 remained.
That decline mirrors a shrinking client base. In 1943, it was estimated that 20,000 people regularly bought haute couture. By 1990, that number had fallen to just 200. Why? The rise of luxury ready-to-wear collections gave clients more options and fewer reasons to wait weeks or months for one-of-a-kind garments.
Still, haute couture is not going anywhere. It remains the pinnacle of fashion, a world where imagination, skill, and tradition come together in pieces that are as much art as clothing.
A 2020 decision by the Ministry of the Economy, which was extended until July 31, 2025, by another decision, designates the following 16 houses that hold the haute couture label:
- Adeline André,
- Alexandre Vauthier,
- Alexis Mabille,
- Bouchra Jarrar,
- Chanel,
- Christian Dior,
- Franck Sorbier,
- Giambattista Valli,
- Givenchy,
- Jean Paul Gaultier,
- Julien Fournié,
- Maison Margiela,
- Miason Rabih Kayrouz,
- Maurizio Galante,
- Schiaparelli, and
- Stéphane Rolland.
For more on clothing and fabric rationing in the 1940s, see this blog post from 2023 written by Lauren Krauskopf, a former intern with the Digital Resources Division of the Law Library of Congress.
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